As I See It…

I wonder, is there a difference between character and virtue?

On the one hand, I suppose that you could attempt to use the terms interchangeably. On the other hand, it appears to me that having virtue would help describe your character. Now, before your eyes glaze over, let’s move on.

There is an almost universal cynicism within our nation about the “character” of politicians, namely, it’s not valued highly. Similarly, there was a day when professional athletes were viewed as “role models” for our young people; someone whom they could emulate. In the meantime, we have become a culture that thrives on celebrity status. We want to know what the rich and famous are about and how they got there. Sadly, we end up seeing that many who have the status of celebrity don’t know how to manage it well.

“A particular moral excellence,” is the way one dictionary defines virtue. It then goes on to talk about sexual purity and “any admirable quality.” A variant on the word, virtuous, is described as, “behaving according to standards that are right or just.” I suppose we could push it one notch and debate the value of these standards that are “right and just,” but for now, let’s just measure them by biblical standards: right in the eyes of the Lord. We’ve lost a lot of what it means to have virtue or to be virtuous in American culture today.

We do have a saying though: “As American as baseball, mom, and apple pie.” Let’s lift “mom” out of that saying for moment and consider her status. Besides, given what’s happened to many steroid subscribing ball players, it’s pretty much an open and shut case concerning their virtue. Though apple pie still may be without much controversy, I wouldn’t bank on genetic engineering of the apples being out of the question…

But back to mom, I do believe that we still want our image and memory of mom to be virtuous. Our worlds would probably come apart if mom still didn’t = virtuous. To think of mom in any lesser way would just violate all that we hold dear and holy! Come to think of it, we really do need to have one person in our lives that still emulates virtue. So mom, we nominate you! Thanks for filling the void that’s missing in so many other places. You help us answer the biblical question: “Who can find a virtuous woman…?” The answer? Our moms!

Pastor Megilligan